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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23341417">I'm Sorry</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/rebelmeg/pseuds/rebelmeg'>rebelmeg</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Rebelmeg's TSB Fills 2020 [7]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, I Made Myself Cry, Miscarriage, Pepper Potts Needs a Hug, Sad with a Happy Ending, Tony Stark Has A Heart</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 08:14:14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,446</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23341417</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/rebelmeg/pseuds/rebelmeg</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony finds Pepper in an unexpected situation.  Apologies are exchanged, tears are shed, and it happens with their arms around each other.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Pepper Potts/Tony Stark</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Rebelmeg's TSB Fills 2020 [7]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1591063</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>32</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>107</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Ladies of Marvel Bingo 2019, Tony Stark Bingo 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>I'm Sorry</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I AM CROSSING OFF THREE BINGO SQUARES WITH THIS FIC!  YEEHAW!  </p><p>Title: I'm Sorry<br/>Collaborator: rebelmeg<br/>Squares Filled: TSB, S5 - image of the "Proof the Tony Stark has a heart" reactor<br/>Ladies of Marvel Bingo, O4 - Tony Stark/Iron Man<br/>Pepperony Bingo, O4 - image of Tony and Pepper in the park in AIW<br/>Ship: Pepperony<br/>Rating: Gen<br/>Major Tags: sad with a happy ending, miscarriage<br/>Summary: Tony finds Pepper in an unexpected situation. Apologies are exchanged, tears are shed, and it happens with their arms around each other.<br/>Word Count: 1444</p><p>Yes, there is talk of a miscarriage in this fic, before Morgan.  It's not graphic, but it's emotional, so respect your own limits.</p><p>All the love and thanks to <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fighting_for_Creativity">Fighting_for_Creativity</a>, who was my lovely beta!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Tony cut out of rehab early.  He was supposed to do three hours every other day, building his body back up from the emaciated state it had fallen into while he’d been stranded in space.  But he couldn’t settle to it today, couldn’t stop the buzz of nervous energy and self-consciousness that he felt every time he went into the physical therapy suite in the med wing of the Compound.  Usually he could shake it off after a bit, his attention caught up in the pain and effort of the exercises he had to do to get himself back to full strength and function, but today was a dud.  He’d make up for it tomorrow.  For right now, all he wanted to do was either lose himself in his workshop, or find Pepper and lose himself in her arms.  Both options were extremely appealing.</p><p>A soft noise caught his attention as he entered the suite he and Pepper shared near the rear of the Compound, the sound something out of the ordinary.  He glanced around, not seeing anything out of place, then just as he started to suspect he'd been hearing things, he heard it again.  And he knew what that sound was.  </p><p>He was shocked clear down to his core when he opened the door to the bedroom to see Pepper sitting on the floor beside the bed, her knees drawn up to her chest, sobbing her eyes out.  She looked up when he came in, her eyes red-rimmed and swollen, then buried her face in her hands.</p><p>“Pepper?  Pep?” He was next to her in an instant, his knees complaining at the abuse.  His hands hovered in the air for a minute, unsure what to do, then he wrapped his arms around her, sheer terror clenching in his chest.  "What happened?  What's wrong?"</p><p>“I’m sorry,” She cried, her hands still covering her face.  “I'm fine.  I just... I didn’t think you’d be back for hours.”</p><p>“Pepper…” Tony felt utterly heartbroken as he parsed out her meaning.  “Honey, no, you don’t have to hide this from me.  What are you thinking?”</p><p>“I’m s-supposed to be stronger than this.  To be strong for you, I’m not the one that nearly died up in space—”</p><p>“No, stop it.” Shifting around in front of her, Tony gently wrapped his fingers around her wrists, pulling her hands away from her face.  She kept her eyes closed and head bowed, like she didn’t want him to see her, but Tony tipped her chip up and kissed her softly.  “Honey, please look at me.”</p><p>She didn’t right away.  A few more shuddery sobs shook through her as she sniffled, obviously trying to get ahold of herself, but finally those blue eyes opened.</p><p>“I’m gonna want to know what this is about in just a minute, but first I need you to let me say something, and I need you to hear it.”  </p><p>Pepper nodded slowly, then Tony took a deep breath, trying to find some sort of calm so he could say what he needed to say the right way.  “You don’t have to hide this from me.  You don’t have to hide anything from me.  If you’re upset or happy or sad or anything, you can tell me.  You think I’m going to be put off by you crying?  Are you kidding me?  That’s not a sign of weakness, Pep, that’s a sign of you being the exact opposite of weak.  Have you ever thought I was weak, any of the dozen times I woke up in the middle of a panic attack because of a nightmare?”</p><p>She pressed her trembling lips together, trying to smother another sob as she shook her head, but Tony just sighed sadly and kissed her forehead, smoothing her light strawberry blonde hair back.  Shifting around so that he was sitting next to her, one shoulder leaning against the bed and his legs on either side of her, he tugged her into his arms and tucked her against his chest. “What’s going on?  Please tell me.  I’m worried sick.  Is it me?  The space thing?  You want me to have a meltdown with you about it?”</p><p>Taking deep breaths again like she was trying to keep the calm she managed to find, Pepper shook her head.  “No, it’s not that.  Not this time.”</p><p>Implying that this was definitely not the first time she had waited until he was gone before falling to pieces.  Tony fought back a wave of self-hatred, knowing this was not the time.  He could hate himself later.  He cupped her face in his hand, tipping it up and smoothing away the tears with his thumb. “Then what, honey?”</p><p>It took another minute and several tissues, then Pepper finally looked at him, an entire world of hurt in her eyes.</p><p>“I was pregnant.”</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“I was pregnant.”</p><p>“When?”</p><p>Her eyes welled up again, though the tears didn’t quite spill over. “In the park.”</p><p>Tony knew what she meant immediately, he didn't even have to think about it at all, and something inside him lurched.  “When… when I told you about my dream?”</p><p>She nodded miserably, one tear finally tracking down her reddened cheek.  “I didn’t know.  I didn’t even suspect.  And then… I didn’t even realize I was late.  Because you were—”</p><p>“Because I jumped on a flying space donut and disappeared.” Tony sighed, letting his head fall back for a minute.  Regrets.  So many regrets, enough that they would swamp him if he didn’t push them away.  “Pep, I’m—”</p><p>She cut him off with a quick shake of her head, her eyes squeezing shut as she curled back up against his chest, her head tucked under his chin. “I didn’t know until I lost it.”</p><p>Tony’s heart just… broke.  “Oh, honey.”</p><p>She was crying again, trying to get the words out around her weeping.  “It hurt so much.  I-I couldn’t believe something so tiny could hurt so much.  And there was so much blood.”</p><p>It was like his insides had been shredded, torn apart with the force of his own heartache, and he couldn’t even put any words together, anything to bring her some kind of comfort.</p><p>She was squeezing his hand now, so tight it hurt. “All I could think was that you were right, and you might never know it.  The last part of you left in the world, and I was losing it and you would never even know you were right.”</p><p>Tony didn’t know he was crying until he felt the tears on his cheeks get rubbed away when he buried his face in her hair.  He wasn’t even sure what had triggered the tears.  There was too much to choose from.</p><p>“I’m so sorry,” He whispered, holding onto his Pepper like she’d vanish if he didn’t.  “I’m so sorry, honey.  I’m so sorry.”  Over the sound of his own hitched, wet breaths, he could hear her whispering the same thing.</p><p>They went back and forth, seeking and giving forgiveness with every quiet word and gentle sob, even when it wasn’t necessary.</p><p>“I’m so sorry you had to go through that alone.”</p><p>“I’m sorry I lost it.”</p><p>“I’m sorry I left.”</p><p>“I’m sorry I didn’t know.”</p><p>“I’m sorry you were so worried and scared.”</p><p>“I’m sorry I wasn’t there.”</p><p>“I’m sorry it took me so long to get back.”</p><p>“I’m so sorry you lost Peter.”</p><p>“I’m sorry we lost our baby.”</p><p>Pepper shuddered a little in his arms, holding onto him tight.  “We can try again.”</p><p>Tony turned his face into her hair again, letting the strawberry blonde strands soak up the fresh tears leaking down his cheeks.  “You want to?”</p><p>“Yes.”</p><p>“Yeah?  Really?”  Hope was a small, painful bubble in his chest that he didn't know if he wanted to nurture or smother.</p><p>“Yes." Her voice was quavering, but the conviction behind it was solid as a rock.  "I want to marry you first.  We owe each other a wedding.  And then I want to have your baby.”</p><p>“We don’t have to, Pep.  I don’t need that.  I just need you.”</p><p>She pressed a kiss to his neck. “I want it.  I want a family with you.  I want to make something that’s yours and mine, something that is a part of both of us.  Someone that is a part of you.” </p><p>Trying to ignore the tears that just wouldn’t seem to stop, Tony trembled. “I want that too.  When you’re ready.”</p><p>“When <i>we’re</i> ready.”</p><p>“Okay.  Pepper?”</p><p>“Yeah?”</p><p>“I love you.  So much.”</p><p>Her sigh was shuddery and uneven, but her grip on him didn’t falter at all.  “I love you too.  With all my heart.”</p>
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